Hi, I'm relatively new to fine tea, but have been drinking tea for the past 18 years. Only in the past 5 or so have I progressed to better teas. Lately, I've gotten even more serious about trying new teas and learning about tea in general. It has become somewhat of an obsession, but, I think, a generally healthy one.

What was your first Tea?

Who knows? Probably some Earl Grey in a teabag?

What is your favorite Tea currently?

Long Jing

What is your next purchase?

I just ordered a variety of teas including a few I haven't tried yet. Mostly greens but also whites, oolongs, pu-erh, and black - all Chinese. I won't go into details here.

After lurking here for a bit, I finally registered so I could take part in OTTI 19. I am new to serious tea drinking and it began in April with a vacation to Taiwan. My wife took me over to a family friend's house and told them I like tea. Our host had a beautiful carved stone slab tea tray of oxen crossing a river and a large collection of Yixing pots (I had no clue what Yixing pots were at this point). He then began making me an array of wonderful teas, Gongfu style, which I had never seen before. I was fascinated. I had a million questions to ask but he didn't speak English and I don't speak much Chinese. I was lucky enough to get to go back there one more time for another tea session before he sent me on my way with my very own pot and some Lishan. Before leaving Taiwan I was gifted another pot, bought a porcelain Gongfu set, and was given several bags of different Gaoshans.

Back in the US, it took me a couple of weeks to gather my supplies but now I've been exploring Formosa Oolongs every weekend and learning as much as I can from TeaChat and other places on the Internet.

I'm mainly using a porcelain pot or a gaiwan around 6 oz in size and I've brewed Lishan, Alishan, Tung Ting, San Lin Xi, Jing Xuan, and TieGuanYing. I'm going to stick to brewing Formosa Oolongs until I feel I have a real good grasp on them which could be a long time.

I believe I was given a Pomelo Fragrance Dancong too but I'm staying away from that until I have a clue. From what I have read here that's pretty advanced. I might post pics of the pots I was given because they seem decent but I wouldn't know.

BJB wrote:I'm going to stick to brewing Formosa Oolongs until I feel I have a real good grasp on them which could be a long time.

I believe I was given a Pomelo Fragrance Dancong too but I'm staying away from that until I have a clue.

I, too, started with Taiwan oolongs and baozhongs and was in shock when I migrated to "rocks" and dan congs (I felt more of a sense of recognition with Anxis but they came later). You'll probably find, when you decide the time is right, that broadening your horizons ultimately has the effect of providing you with a wider range of flavors to crave.

How long have you been drinking tea?About 5 years ago. Serious for around a year.

What was your first Tea?An rolled oolong with a natural tone of peaches. Do not remember the name.

What is your favorite Tea currently?Oolong for the moment.

What is your next purchase?Not sure. Need to know more about tea before that. So I joined this place and ordered some books to help me find out:Tea: History, Terroirs, VarietiesThe Tea Drinker's HandbookThe Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking GuideThe Tea Enthusiast's Handbook: A Guide to Enjoying the World's Best Teas

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?Any quiet place with an harmonic atmosphere. Preferably close to books and a friend that shares my passion for tea.

Sounds like you've made an excellent start on your tea journey. Welcome!

I enjoy a variety of teas, but always come back to oolongs, because there are so many different tasty varieties, shading from nearly green teas to dark earthy roasted varieties that can be quite like some mellower puerhs, and they're easier to brew well than some of the trickier greens and puerhs.

Hello everyone! This is my first post so I thought I would start it off right.

How long have you been drinking tea?I have been drinking tea in the general sense all my life. Living in the American south, I never really thought about tea more than sweet black "Lipton" tea. In college I got a tea sampler from uptown teas but I couldn't stick with the ritual of tea. Recently I've been enjoying tea nearly every day as my main beverage.

What was your first Tea?My first loose leaf tea was a green tea/lemongrass mixture.

What is your favorite Tea currently?So far, Gyokuro.

What is your next purchase?I'm going to be picking up some silver tips to experiment with as we'll as some oolong and pur eh if I can find it.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?Anywhere really. Usually I enjoy in my room where I have a little station set up.

How long have you been drinking tea?Being born in a chinese family, I would say about the same time I started eating.

What was your first Tea?My first tea would be the kind of puerh you drink at the dim sum restaurants. The first tea that actually opened me up to the real flavours of the TeaWorld was an organic sencha called Ume from OTTI 12

What is your favorite Tea currently?Currently, it's a Yunnan Dian Hong from a local tea merchant. Incredibly malty and sweet with some white peach flavours.

What is your next purchase?I haven't had green tea in a while, so I am considering trying the offerings from O-cha.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?Anywhere with friends and family, because good tea is meant to be shared!

I started drinking black tea as a very young child, maybe 3? In Ireland we drink black tea with milk and sometimes sugar (no sugar for me) everyday really. I've always loved the stuff! Then about 3/4 months ago I started on real loose leaf tea after using white and green tea bags for a while.

What was your first Tea?

Black teabags as above! I branched into green tea bags about 2 years ago, trying different flavoured versions. Then it was white tea bags (with raspberry) and that was when I decided I wanted to try the real deal. So about 3/4 months ago I really got into tea, ordering a chinese white tea assortment, then general chinese tea assortment. So white Pai Mu Tan from House of Tea in Ireland would be my first self brewed loose leaf.

What is your favorite Tea currently?

That is difficult! I'd have to say 3 types! A Pu-erh called "King of Pu-erh," described as a fine, tippy Pu from Yunnen. It is loose leaf, not a cake. Then a Silver Needle White. But most of all, a Tie Guan Yin which just blows my mind. I love a delicate tasting tea!

What is your next purchase?

I have a premium An Ji Bai Pian White Slice Green Tea, a Taiwan Alishan High-Mountain Oolong Tea and a Supreme Bai Hao Yin Zhen Silver Needle White Tea all from Dragon Tea House on the way! I really want to get a good Pu-erh tea cake in, but I am clueless on what to look for.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

Currently in my kitchen when nobody is around to disturb!

I joined TeaChat because nobody I know is really all that interested in tea, so it will be nice to have people to engage in active discussion about tea with! Also, I am not just new to TeaChat, but tea in general, so I'm hoping I can learn a lot and get some good ideas for what teas to purchase and look out for.

I find Pu-erh complicated and I'm having trouble figuring out what to try next, so currently I have delayed purchasing any. So hopefully I can get a feel for what the TeaChat community enjoys and go from there!

How long have you been drinking tea?I only started dabbling in teas when I became interested in herbalism and I realised that the Tea plant itself, in addition to herbs like Valerian and SJW, can be a potent medicinal. This was around late 2011. However, I only truly became obsessed with Tea and how great it can taste when prepared just right a few months ago.

What was your first Tea?Vanilla Black Assam from "House of Tea", naturally flavoured with pure Vanilla sometime in late 2011. I was hooked.

What is your favorite Tea currently?

Ouch, this is a tough one in part because it depends on the context of the question. Tea serves three purposes for me, it tastes great, it's very nutritious and it helps me focus and stay alert. I'm an avid runner and I find that 2-4 cups of Bai Ho Yin Zhen can give me tremendous energy and focus and has a nice flavour profile to boot. But it's still not my favourite flavour. I think "Jun Shan Yin Zhen" from "Tao Tea Leaf" has the best flavour profile with a main course, especially after a second steeping!

What is your next purchase?Jun Shan Yin Zhen!

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?I prefer to drink my Tea slowly in front of the computer while reading the news in the morning.

Ah yes, House of Tea. It is where I get my start in tea as well. Good teas, but pricey. Having said that, they used to have the best senchas in town.

I agree that it's pricey but it's hardly the most expensive storefront place to buy Tea in Toronto by a longshot, although it does depend on the Tea. Also bear in mind the proprietress is very generous with the samples; a sample itself is often enough for 4 or more cups and she sometimes gives me two samples!